Mungu
Category:Faeri Religions =Overview= Mungu is the religion followed primarily by the Duendo and Half-Duendo/Humans living in Duendo lands. Mungu is a religion structured around the belief in spirits living within all natural things -- plants, animals, people. Some of these spirits are friendly, others malignant (almost demonic), and still others neutral. Those that practice Mungu respect nature and all living things, and pay homage to Askari and his family, the Duendo gods. It is a very superstitious religion; demons and evil spirits run rampant in Duendo lore (and some in life), leading to many ceremonies and rune inscriptions meant to ward off and defeat evil and protect their souls (believed to be manifested in their shadows) from being stolen. Mungu shamans are the best at warding off demons and bad fortune. When a person of Mungu faith dies, their soul remains in their body for a week (making them vulnerable to necromancers) before being ritually freed into Mbinguni (or Profundum, depending on the good/evil deeds of the person) by a shaman. If no shaman is able to perform this ceremony, and the soul has not fallen prey to a necromancer, then the spirit wanders out of the body on its own, but roams about Ehrdi as a ghost, unable to find Mbinguni on its own. These souls can be sent to their final destination (or reincarnation) by a shaman, though sometimes they fall prey to demons. After spending a year in Mbinguni or Profundum, the soul is reborn into a new body. This cycle repeats until the soul leaves the sixteenth mortal life it's possessed and enters Mbinguni (once again, or Profundum) for good. =Askari= :Gender: Male :Morals: Chaotic Good :Nicknames:: The Great Patron Father :Allies: Binti, Mwana :Enemies: Migliore, Sshaeldra :Holy Text: Neno la Kweli (Creed; is not in written form) :Domains: The Duendo, hunting, family :History: The second god created by Sateer and Fai, Askari was a wild child from the very beginning, similar in many ways to his elder brother, Migliore. The two fought against each other from the moment of birth, and soon after Migilore created the Drude, Askari created the Duendo, making them like him -- dark skinned and dark haired, much unlike his brother's fair-skinned Drude children. He purposely made the Duendo stronger, bigger, and faster than the Drude to annoy his brother, which led into even more feuds. The struggles between the two siblings only decreased when Gesù quelled Migliore's temper. The two still fight on occasion, but nothing compared to their many near-death battles of old. After a particularly brutal fight with Migliore in the past, blood seeped from a wound in Askari's shoulder, soon becoming his twin children, Binti and Mwana. Today, Askari keeps his family and people together the best he can, still occasionally coming into conflict with his older sibling. =Binti= :Gender: Female :Morals: Neutral Good :Nicknames: The Sister, Moon Maiden :Allies: Askari, Mwana, Gesù :Enemies: None :Holy Text: Mwezi (Creed; is not in written form) :Domains: The Duendo, moon, night, mothers, children :History: Created from the blood of Askari, Binti is the elder twin deity. She became Mungu's goddess of the night and the moon. Serene and very motherly, Binti helps to balance the more fiery nature of her brother, Mwana. Binti eventually came to bear two demigod sons, Mosi and Atatu. These two divine-blooded mortals went on to found the main Duendo tribes that still bear their name. Binti guards those venturing out into the darkness and mothers and children. Despite her father's long-term rivalry with her uncle, Migliore, Binti remains neutral to the Drude god, and is actually on friendly terms with Migliore's son, Gesù. =Mwana= :Gender: Male :Morals: Chaotic Good :Nicknames: The Brother, Sun King :Allies: Askari, Binti :Enemies: Migliore :Holy Text: Jua (Creed; is not in written form) :Domains: The Duendo, sun, day, fathers, children :History: Created from the blood of Askari, Mwana is the younger twin deity. He became Mungu's god of the day and the sun. Like his father, Mwana has a fiery temperment, though he is not as prone to bringing destruction upon his followers, as some outsiders would believe. Eventually, Mwana sired two demigod sons, Pili and Aishi. These two divine-blooded mortals went on to found the main Duendo tribes that still bear their name. Mwana watches over all that transpires under the light of the sun, and is well renown for his distaste of all things demonic and undead. He holds little love for his father's foe and his own uncle, Migliore, but remains neutral to Migliore's son, Gesù. =Mosi, Atatu, Pili, and Aishi= :Gender: All Male :Morals: All Chaotic Good :Nicknames: The Four Jumbe (Chiefs), Sons of the Twins :Allies: Askari, Binti, Mwana :Enemies:: Migliore :Holy Text: None :Domains: The Duendo, their respective tribes :History: These four Mungu deities were once demigods, Mosi and Atatu the spawn of Binti, and Pili and Aishi the sons of Mwana. Some of the earliest Duendo to walk Ehrdi, the four demigods were the first to unite the Duendo into four main tribes (each tribe named after its leader) through their warrior might and excellent leadership skills. The four were known to bicker among each other on occasion, but overall, relationships between them and their people remained on good terms. Aishi was an expert archer, and to this day his people specialize in the way of the bow. Atatu favored the spear, teaching his tribe in its ways. Pili was known far and wide as the best swordsman, while Mosi fought best with a war club. Upon their deaths, their immortal parents granted them full godhood, where they remain to watch over their respective tribes.